Union Station Advocates: July 2009

This New Update provides synopses of several important meetings that took place this month ending with a Panel Presentation and Discussion on July 23rd organized by Councilwoman Montero to inform the public of the latest developments related to the Union Station Redevelopment Project.

The first entry in this Update is a Q&A exchange. To the best of our ability, USA responds to questions or requests for clarification sent to us via http://www.blogger.com/info@unionstationadvocates.org. However, if we do not know the answers, we pass the queries on to a knowledgeable person within the project team. The following is an exchange via USA:

Questions & Answers

Questions by Ray York, Founder: Rail Passenger USA
Answers by Tom Gougeon, Continuum LLC / Union Station Neighborhood Company

Q. What is the status of the FTA Record of Decision (ROD)? Has one been issued?
A. A Record of Decision was issued last fall, Oct. 18th I believe.

Q. What is the current status and anticipated duration of the ColoRail lawsuit? Is it on the docket? Where can I read the details of the filing?
A. Nothing has been scheduled regarding the Colorail suit. Documents are still being assembled to provide the administrative record and that is the only current activity I am aware of at present. I believe a copy of the suit filed by the ColoRail folks is available on their web site.

Q. Union Station Advocates states in their May 2009 News Update that “Excavation for the transportation components will commence in early June starting at the new Light Rail Terminal site out at the CML and proceeding toward the station.” I’m assuming that this did not happen, and that there is a restraining order or some other legal mechanism in place preventing the start of this excavation. Is this correct?
A. There is no restraining order or injunction in place and none requested yet as far as I know. The construction schedule for the public project (all modes of transportation, associated infrastructure and public spaces) is approximately 4 years. A contract has been executed with the contractor and a Limited Notice to Proceed has also been given. The timing of the start of construction is being affected by the timing of availability of funds from various sources that are part of the overall financing plan. So design and some site work are proceeding, but heavier construction of facilities will not begin until fourth quarter. The construction schedule is roughly from then to the middle/latter portion of 2013.

Q. Do you know if there is a Kiewit LNTP construction schedule available? Does Kiewit have an overall schedule listing the project activities that they responsible for? Is there an up to date milestone schedule available identifying the start and finish dates of the key activities included in the overall 12 year project?
A. Not sure what 12 year schedule he is referring to. Clearly the private development on the five parcels being sold on the site will take longer than the 4 year construction schedule for the transportation project. There is a detailed milestone schedule, but it is being adjusted somewhat to match both timing of receipt of funds from various sources and RTD’s plans for the startup of various corridors connecting to the Union Station hub.

Q. Thanks for taking the time to pass on my questions and forward the reply. I understand that schedules for this type and size of project are subject to many external influences. My current objective is just to get a better snapshot of the current schedule to pass along to my readers. The 12 year schedule (2004-2016) that I was referring to is the overall FasTracks project schedule published by RTD (http://www.rtd-fastracks.com/main_31) on their website. This schedule still shows the Union Station renovation being completed sometime in mid 2012.
A. Not sure I can provide too much more information. The overall FasTracks schedule is only partially relevant for Union Station. DUS needs to be ready to accommodate the West Corridor with new light rail facilities at the DUS hub (they will be completed in 2011 prior to the completion of the West Corridor, still scheduled for 2012 I believe) and to accommodate other commuter rail corridors that will come on line in 2014 and beyond. The Union Station construction schedule currently presumes start of construction this year and completion in 2013. The only schedule issues being reviewed are whether completion may be in July of 2013 or the fall of 2013, depending mostly on when construction commences this year. Kiewit has a detailed schedule and is currently reviewing to match early construction to the availability of funding from various project sources. For more information on that, you would need to contact the Authority’s Owner’s Representative (Trammell Crow Company).

July 9, 2009 Summary of DUSPA Meeting

The main items discussed in the public part of the meeting were the review of the Administrative Budget for DUSPA and a discussion of DUSPA’s intent to contract with a Public Information Consultant (or Consultant Team) to conduct meetings with the public and to develop a DUSPA website. The Public Information Consultant (Team) will report to Bill Mosher. A Request For Information will be sent out in the second half of July and selection will take place in August.

July 16, 2009 Transit Architecture Update

The meeting opened with Bill Mosher (DUSPA’s point man for the project) talking briefly about the transition underway from the previous EOC/USAC process to DUSPA. He mentioned the Design/Build Contract has been executed with Kiewit and that the Peer Review Process is underway. See:

http://www.denverunionstation.org/pdfs/related_activities/PeerDesignReviewWorkPlan_FINAL061109.pdf
for more detail about the Peer members. Bill also mentioned that the transit architecture (train shed, canopies, bus box), which he referred to as the vertical development, was 60% designed. He said the “horizontal” public realm design (pedestrian connections, plazas, etc.) was at 10%. He stated that a series of public meetings would be held in the next three months on the public realm design.

Next Roger Duffy and Kristopher Takacs of SOM presented the latest transit architecture design. Roger stated that the design is segmented into three Design Packages. The first focuses on the LRT to Wewatta, the second on Wewatta to Union Station, and the third on the public realm and the area around the station. A schedule of meetings was shown. Reference was made to the overall site, including 10 discrete development sites, as being 42 acres.

The following presentations addressed the first Design Package (designated as UD 1). It includes the architecture associated with the LRT, CRT, Bus Terminal, 16th St. Shuttle, and the Downtown Circulator. Points made included:

- The mixed-use developments around the site would be low scale to a height of the LRT
- There would be 5 vertical circulation nodes
- There is a 50% coverage requirement over the LRT and CRT tracks.
- The canopy over the CRT is designed to be 21’ in the middle (a 160’ span) rising to 43’ on the north end and 67’ on the south end.
- Based on a meeting with the Peer Review group earlier that day, a design change to the LRT is being considered. The consideration is to cover the LRT and the entrance to the bus box with a boomerang-shaped canopy.

When asked about the station itself, Bill Mosher interjected that DUSPA intended to conduct an Assessment Process in the future that would address Utilities/Services, Historic Improvements and Programming at the station.

Kristopher Takacs addressed responses by the stakeholders to comments/suggestions made by the public over the past several months. Some were under further consideration, many were either tabled for later or rejected.

At the end of the SOM presentation, Ken Haines of Hargraves talked about the upcoming public realm design process. He said key elements of the design are flexibility of use, year-round use, and accommodations for both sunny and shady areas. Hargraves plans to have a schematic design at the 30% completion level by year end.

Copies of the July 16 presentation will be posted on the USA website and blog soon. The next DUSPA update forum is scheduled for October 1, 2009.

July 23, 2009 Summary of DUSPA Meeting

The meeting started with a discussion of the developer’s agreement. Although not public at this point, the agreement will most likely address the take-down timeframes and dollar amounts for the private parcels, and the developer’s responsibilities with regards to the public spaces. The board deferred voting on the agreement until next meeting, which is scheduled for August 6, 2009.

A design change at the LRT resulting from the Peer Review process was discussed. It essentially lowers the glass outbuilding to the level of the bus terminal, which is projected to save on construction costs. Bill Mosher asked for DUSPA to approve the change which they did. They also gave Bill authority to proceed with other changes that all parties agreed to and are cost neutral or a cost savings.

The RFI for the public consultant was sent to 20 firms. A recent article in Westword prompted discussion of media coordination. It was agreed that the Public Consultant would be responsible for coordinating media responses with RTD, the City of Denver and the other public entities involved in the project.

The annual DUSPA meeting will take place on September 17, 2009.

July 23, 2009 Panel Presentation and Discussion

On July 23, 2009, Councilwoman Judy Montero led a meeting at the Oxford Hotel in which a panel of three addressed the current status of the Union Station Redevelopment Project. Mayor John Hickenlooper gave opening remarks about the importance of the project to Denver and the region and introduced the panel, which consisted of: Diane Barrett from the City, Jerry Glick of DUSPA, and Tom Gougeon of USNC. USA will provide more detail in our August News Update, but the following slides presented at the meeting capture the key points (click images to view at full size):

A couple clarifications. The Sources and Uses slide shows $40 million of the $200 million plus that RTD will be investing in the project. This chart doesn’t show the rest, as the rest is used as a stream of lease payments into the future so it can be one of the sources of repayment for the DOT loans and also to improve the shadow credit rating of the financing structure to help lower the cost of getting those loans. So sources of repayment of the loans like RTD lease payments, TIF and the DUS Metro District mill levies are not shown as they repay the loans, but the loans provide the dollars for the construction so are shown as part of the list of uses.

One of the questions asked by the audience following the presentations was: “What is the status of the lawsuit filed against the FTA?” The panel was not at liberty to comment, but a person in the audience later stated in private to the questioner that on Friday, July 17th, the FTA had submitted their responses to the six issues raised in the suit and that a judge had taken them under consideration. The judge may dismiss all, part or none of them.

To download a PDF of this July 2009 USA News Update, click here.